Self-winding watch



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. H. VONDERHEYDT.

SELF WINDING WATCH.

No. 332,023. Patented Dec. 8,1885.

o )Mv M e wwwa/M @a PWCL 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

H. VON DER HEYDT.

SELF WINDING WATCH.

No. 332,023. Patented Dee. 8, 1885.

N. PETCRS. Plmm-Lmmgmphnr. Wnshinglon, D. c.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(Mmm H. VON DBR HBYDT.

SEL1 WINDING WATH. No. 332,023. Patented Dec. 8, 1885.

N PETERS. PhalwLixhegmpher. wuxhmgmn. D4 C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEieE.

HERMANN VON DER HEYDT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SELF-WINDING WATCH.

.SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 332,023, datedDecember 8, 1885.

Application filed December' 17, 1884. Serial No. 150,550. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMANN voN DER HEYDT, of Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Self-Vi1itling Watches; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved construction inselfwinding watches of that class in which the mainspring is wound bymeans of the vibrations of a pendulum putin motion by the movements ofthe wearer in walking or under other circumstances.

The self-winding devices herein illustrated as embodying my inventionare, in their general features of construction, similar to thoseheretofore used and first known as the invention of Breuget, of Paris,France, and to those illustrated in Letters Patent of the United StatesNo. 211.280, granted upon the 7th day of January, 1879, to August VonLoehr, of Vienna, Austria, and in Letters Patent of the United Statesgranted to me upon the 19th day of February, 1884, and numbered 293,691.

The winding device herein shown and above referred to consists,essentially, of a weight or pendulum which is pivotally connected withthe plate of the watch, an arbor mounted concentrically with the pivotalaxis of the pendulum, and provided with a ratchet-wheel, a click o1'pawl upon the pendulumarm,engaged with the ratchet-wheel in such manneras to turn the latter when the pendulum is vibrated, a detent alsoengaged with the ratchet-wheel and constructed to prevent backwardrotation of the latter, a spring opposing the weight of thependulum soas to hold thelatter normally about midway between the upper and lowerlimits of its movement and adapted to yield, so as to permit a vibratorymovement of the pendulum when the latter is shaken bythe movements ofthe body, and a train of gears connecting the arbors ot' the saidratchet-wheel with the mainspring-arbor of the watch.

The important feature of novelty in the device herein shown andillustrated consists in an improved stop device, by means of which theoverwinding of the watch will be prevented, andthe pendulum will at thesame time become locked or held from further vibration'when the watch iswound to a desired degree, and will be held immovable until the watch isrun down or the spring unwinds to a definite extent, when said pendulumwill be winding the watch.

In the self-winding devices shown in the patent to Von Loehr, referredto, which, with the exception of my prior patent, embodies the mostrecent improvements in devices of this character, 11o stop mechanism isused; but the vibrator-y pendulum is made relatively light, and aspring-pawl upon the weight-arm, which pawl engages the ratchetwheel, ismade to yield backwardly upon any considerable resistance to therotation of the ratchet-wheel over that ordinarily required for windingthe watch, so that when the watch has been wound the said pawl willyield to permit the continued vibrations of the pendulum, but will notpnt too great a strain upon the mainspring. This construction isobjectionable for several reasons, the principal of which is that theweight or pendulum being relatively light, it is necessary, in order toget the required power, to gear the ratchet-wheel with the spring-arbor`in such manner that a great ina-uy vibrations of the pendulum arenecessary to wind the watch, it being stated in Von Loehrs specificationthat about twelve thousand vibrations of the pendulum may be necessaryfor completely winding the watch. This number of vibrations is greaterthan will ordinarily occur in case the wearer takes no more than theordinary amount of exercise, so that a watch constructed in this mannerwill obviously be liable to run down.

In the watch shown in the patent granted to me, and above referred to, adevice is shown constructed to prevent overwinding, and which is alsoadapted to arrest the movement of the pendulum. Such device, althoughuseful so far as the prevention of overwinding is concerned, is founddefective for the purpose of holding thependulum from movement after thewatch is fully wound up, for the reason that in it there is no especialmeans provided for causing the engagement of the stop device releasedand permitted to again operate in IOO with the pendulum for a detinitelength ol` time. 0n the contrary, the stop device for arresting thependulum is caused to engage the pendulum by the vibrating movements ofthe pendulum itself, so that as soon as the spring begins to unwind orthe watch to run down fromitscompletely-wound condition the lockingdevice immediately becomes released. The effect resulting from thisconstruction is that when the person carrying the watch continues tomove after it has been wound up, the weight or pendulum will continue tobecome engaged with and disengaged from the lock ing devices at shortintervals, thus causing an almost constant action of the stop deviceunder such circt'tmstanccs, calculated to injure and rapidly wear ontthe same.

To obviate the objectionstostop devicesheretofore usedthat have beenabovepointed out, l employ, in connection with a winding meehanism and adetent constructed to engage the pendulum or weight, intermediatedevices consisting, essentially, of a spring or its equivalent adaptcdto throw the detent into engagement with the weight or pendulum, andmechanism adapted to hold said detent ont of engagement with thependulum under ordinary circumstances, or when the watch is being wound,which mechanism is so constructed that the said detent will be releasedat the moment the watch is completely wound up. The devices Yfor holdingthe dctent out ofengagement with the weight are so constructed, also,that they will not permit the disengagement of the detent from thependulum until a certain definite period after the watch is fully wound,so that the mainspring may be allowed to run down a certain length oftime before the weight is released and the winding begins again. By thismeans the. continued engagement and release of the pendulum or weightand the consequent continued operation ot' the stop device (which isobjectionable Vfor reasons before stated) are prevented.

Another feature of novelty in the winding mechanism herein illustratedconsists in adevice for releasing both the pawl upon the weight-arm andthe stationary detent engaged with the ratchet, whereby the watch may beunwound when it is desired to take the watch apart i'or repairs or otherpurposes, as will be hereinafter described.

The invention may he more readily understood by referenceto theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a plan view of the watchwith the dial removed, illustrating the parts by which the selfwindingis eli'ected. Fig. 2 is a similar plan with the plate adjacent to thedial removed, showing only the parts of the watch relating to the stopmechanism. Fig. 3 is a detail View illustrating the operative parts ofthe stop mechanism shown in Fig. 2 in a changed position. Fig. et is asection through the inainspring-barrel, taken upon the line a; fr ot'Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the outer end of thespring shown in Fig. 4. Fig. G is a detail illustrating a modified formof the device shown in Figs. 2, 3, and et. Fig. 7 isa view similartoFig. 2, showing a modified form ofthe stop device. Fig. S is a detailview showing the parts illustrated in Fig. 7 in a changed position. Fig.9 is a detail sectional view taken upon line x .e of Fig. 7. Fig. l0shows another modified form of the device. Fig. ll is a detail sectiontaken upon line a x of Fig. l. Fig. l2 is a detail elevation of theparts shown in Fig. 11.

In the drawings, A is a pendulum or weight, (clearly shown in Figs. 2and 7,) which is secured to arod or pendulum-arm, A', said arm beingpivoted to the plates l? and F of the watch, as herein shown, by meansof an arbor, A2, having bearings in the said plates, to which arbor thesaid arm is rigidly connected.

B is a ratchet-wheel, which is mounted coneentrically with the pivotalaxis of the arm .A, a construction being preferably used for thispurpose in which the said wheel is attached to a sleeve mounted torotatel'reely on said arbor.

C is a lifting-spring, which opposes the weight of the pendulum, andwhich is adapted to act upon the arm A in such manner as to hold theweight at a point approximately midway between the upper and lowerlimits of its movement when the wearer is at rest, said weight beingadjusted in strength to correspond with the weight of Ithe pendulum, sothat the latter may be readily moved, and will thereby be caused tovibrate. by the motion of the wearer in walking or otherwise. Thehftingspring C may be of any form found desirable and applied in anymanner, so that it will properly oppose the weight of the pendulum. Asherein shown, however, the said spring is in the form of an ordinarycurved leafspring, which rests at its free end against the side ot' thearm A', and is secured at its opposite end by a screw, c, to the plate Padjacent to the dial ot' the watch. In the particular form of the deviceshown the spring C is provided with a solid part or shank adjacent tothe screw c, in which is inserted a setscrcw, c', the head ol' which isadapted to bear against a raised part of the, said plate l?, whereby theposition of the .tree end ofthe spring with reference to the arm A maybeadjustcd in putting the parts together or afterward, as required. Thearm A. is preferably located within the recess formed in the plate Pbeneath the dial to aiiord space for the pinions by which the properrelative speed is given to the hour and minute hands, the saidpendulum-arm being curved to avoid the said pinions, as clearly shown inFig. l.

Upon the inner side ot' the pendulum-bar A is located a pawl, (t,engaged with the ratchet-wheel B in such manner as to rotate theratchet-wheel when the pendulum is moving downwardly, and upon the platel is placed a second pawl or detent, a', also engaged with theratchet-wheel and adapted to prevent backward movement ol' the latter.

ICC

IIO

The said pawl and detent may be constructed l J, and the opposite end ofwhich is slotted, as

in any desiredv or well-known manner, those herein shown consisting ofsmall pivoted clicks and separate springs a2 c3, respectively secured tothe arm A and the plate P, and resting at their free ends upon theclicks in such manner as to hold them in contact with the ratchet-wheel.The teeth in the ratchetwheel are preferably very small, between one andtwo. hundred having` been found a con venient number in watches ofordinary construction. The ratchet-wheel B is connected with then'iainspring-arbor D by means of a train of intermediate gearing. hereinshown as preferably composed of a pinion attached to the arbor ot' theratchet-wheel B, a gearwheel, e, and pinion upon an arbor, E, and agear'wheel, d, upon the Inainspri11g-arbor D. These several wheels andpinions will usually be so proportioned that the mainspring will becompletely wound up by between three and four thousand vibrations of thependulum, the parts in the particular watch shown being so proportionedthat the watch will be wound for twentyfour hours by about two thousandvibrations of said pendulum.

As far as the construction of the pendulum and of the train of gears isconcerned, the device herein shown is substantially similar to thatillustrated in the patent previously granted to me, and hereiubeforereferred to.

As an improved means for stopping the vibrations of the pendulum whenthe spring is completely wound, in order to prevent overwinding andconsequent liability of breaking` the spring or of irregularity in theaction of the watch, which may be caused` by the action of the springupon the escape mechanism when the spring is too tightly wound, devicesare shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, which are constructed as follows:F is the barrel of the watch, within which is located the mainspring G,and H is a movable plate or detent, which is provided with a notch, h,adapted to engage a stud or projection, I, upon the pendulum A, andwhich is pivoted upon the plate P adjacent to the dial by means of astud or screw, h', (shown in section in Figs. 2 and 3, in which thewatch is shown with the said plate P removed,) said plate or detentbeing provided witha pointor projection, h2, extending toward themainspring-arbor D and adapted to engage theperiphery ofa serrated onfinely toothed or notched wheel or disk, J, mounted to rotate freelyupon said arbor D. K is a spring which is secured to the plate P, (ascrew and stud connecting said spring with the said plate being shown insection in Figs. 2 and 7,) and is adapted to rest at its free endagainst a pin. h3, in the said detent H, in such manner as to tend tothrow the part of the latter containing the notch lt outwardly,or intoposition for eugagement with the stud l. Upon the surface of themainspring barrel adjacent to -the wheel J is mounted a pivoted pawl ordetent,

L, one end ot' which is adapted to engage a projection, tooth, or teethupon the said wheel indicated at Z. and engaged with a projection, g,upon the spring G, near the outer end of the latter, said projection gbeing constructed to extend upwardly througl'i a slot, j', in thebarrel, and so arranged that when the spring is nearly wound up it willbe drawn inwardly, and thereby move the said detent so as to release itfrom the wheel J.

An improved construction inthe spring, whereby a considerable amount ofinward movement ofthe stop g will take place before any considerablestrain is put upon the portion of the spring adjacent to its outer end,is illustrated in the detail view, Fig. 5, in which the end ot thespring G is shown as having secured to it. by rivets or otherwise, oneend of a short piece of spring metal, G', which eX- tends backwardlyalong the outer surface of the spring, and the other end of which isattached to the barrel, the outer end of the spring thus being securedto the barrel through the medium ofthe said piece G,iustead of beingdirectly attached to the barrel, as has heretofore been customary. Thespring G, also, is provided near its end with a slot, g, the effect ofwhich is to weaken or render more flexible the part of the springadjacent to its end. By thus weakening or rendering more ilexiblc thispart of the spring the latter is permitted to readily bend at the pointmentioned when the spring` is nearly wound, and thereby give a directinward pull upon the end ofthe piece G to which the spring is connected.The spring is usually so arranged that the inward movement mentionedwill take place when the spring is within onefourth ot' a turn of beingcompletely wound. The projection g, above referred to,is attached to thepiece G at its free end, or that which is connected with the spring, sothat when the said piece G is drawn inwardly or laterally by the tensionofthe spring the said projection will be moved inwardly, for the purposebciore mentioned. As a simple and convenient construction, theprojection g is formed upon or integral with the piece G', as shown. Thepart of the wheel J engaged by the pawl L may be serrated, so as to beengaged by said pawl in the same manner as is the upper or outer portionthereof, which is engaged by the detent H. Instead ot' thisconstruction, however, the said part of the wheel may be provided withbuta single tooth, j, for engaging the pawl, as shownin Fig. (i, or withtwo or other number of equallyspaced teeth, it' desired.

The particular object gained by the use of one or more than one toothfor engagement with the pawl L will appear in the following descriptionof the operation of the device. Vvlhen the watch is running, and eitherwhile it is being wound or when it is held immovable, so that the weightdoes not vibrate, the barrel F will turn in the usual manner and in thedirection indicated by the arrow thereon in Figs. 2 and 3, and while soturning (the IOO IIO

spring being partially unwound and the pawl L therefore in engagementwith the wheel J) the said wheel J will be carried around with thebarrel and in the direction indicated by the arrow l thereon. The pointif of the detent H being engaged with the serrated periphery ofthe wheelJ, the rotation of said wheel in the direction last mentioned willobviously carry and hold the notch It of said detent away from theweight and against the action ofthe spring K, which, as beforedescribed, tends to cause engagement of the detent with the weight. rhedeteiit il will continue in the position described, the point h2 thereofslipping over the serrated edge of the wheel J, as the latter revolves,as long as the watch is running, and until itis completely wound up.W'hen, however, by the continued action ofthe weight or pendulum thespring is wound to a desired extent, the pawl 'L will be drawn inwardlyby the action of theV projection g at the end of the spring in theinanner described, and said pawl thereby released from the wheel J. Thesaid wheel now being free to revolve, it will no longer operate to holdthe detent against the action ot' the spring K, but will allow thenotched end ot' said de tent to be thrown forward bythe spring K intoposition to engage the stud upon the pendulum, the said wheel beingrotated backward or in the direction indicated by the arrow 2, Figs. land 2, for a short distance in this movement of the deteiit. The rotarymovement of the wheel J necessary to cause engagement of the detent withthe pendulum is relatively slight, and the point zf" ofthe detent ismade ot' such length and the notches oi'such depth that said point willfully enter the notch with which it is engaged when the wheel is soturned that the point is in alignnient with the pivotal aXes ofthe wheelJ and the detent, and will become disengaged and slip over theprojections upon the wheel when the latter has been moved sufficientlyto release the deteiit from thependulum, The detent H, when thrownoutwardly in the inanner described, will, unless the stud I is oppositethe recess h, which is seldom liable to occur, rest at its outer edgeagainstthe stud until a subsequent movement ofthe weight brings the studin opposition to the notch, when the spring will throw the end of thedetent outwardly, so as to cause the engagement of the notch with thestud. After the pendulum or weight is locked in the manner described thespring will begin to unwind and will continue to unwind until theprojection g at the outer end thereof is permitted to move outwardly soas to carry the pawl L into engagement with the wheel J, and the wheelhas been carried by the said pawl through a distance (in the directiono1" the arrow l) sn'llieient to release the detent from the stud I.inasmuch, however, as the movement required for engaging the pawl withthe wheel J and the detent with the stud may be relatively slight, theengagement and disengagement of the detent and pendulum will,

when the wheel J is serrated, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and et, take placeat coinparativly short intervals-say about one-halthour apartwhen theperson carrying the watch is moving continually, and in order to enablethis time to be made longer, il" desired, the part ot' the wheel Jengaged by the pawl L may be provided with only one tooth, as indicatedat j, Fig. 6, or with several teeth placed at some distance apart, asindicated at j j in dotted lines in said ligure. By this construction itwill be observed that when the pawl L is rcleased froni the wheel J andthe said wheel allowed to rotate backwardly, under the action of thespring-detent engaged therewith, the pawl will become disengaged fromthe tooth engaged by it, which tooth will be carried under or past thepawl in the said backward movement of the wheel, so that when the pawlis again advanced it will comev into position in advance of the saidtooth, and in the rotary movement of the pawl with the barrel said pawlwill move withoutturning the wheel J until the barrel has made acomplete revolution and the pawl encounters the saine tooth, in case onetooth is used, or the next tooth to the one previously engaged, in caseseveral teeth ai'e used. The number or distance apart of the teeth jwill be dependent upon the time it is desired the watch should run alterit has been wound up and before winding again begins. lt is notdesirable that this time should be too long, otherwise the time duringwhich the watch will run without any motion tending to wind it will beobjectionably shortened in case the watch has been completely wound andthe pendulum locked, so as to prevent any winding by the movements ofthe wearer just previous to the heginning ot' the period ot' time duringwhich it is allowed to remain quiescent. rlhe length of time duringwhich the watch will run under these circumstances will obviously beless than the total time required for ruiming down when the watch isfully wound by a period equal to the length ot' time that it hasprevionsly run with the pendulum locked. It', on the other hand, thetime during which the watch inay run before rewindiiig begins is veryshort, the winding device will be continually stopping and starting. soas to subject the stop mechanism to continuous action, tending to wearit out and to produce irregularity in the action of the windingmechanism. The distance apart ol' the teeth, therefore, will begraduated to give a medium length ot' time during which the watch mayunwind, not usually less than half an hour nor more than two hours.

ln Figs. 7, S, and9 another form of stop device is shown having thesainegeneral features ot' construction before described, but in which asomewhat different mechanism upon the barrel for holding the serratedwheelJ from rotation is used.

As illustrated in the iiguics of the drawings last-above mentioned, themeans for holding IOO the said wheel J from rotation duri ng the windingof the watch, instead of being actuated by a projection upon theoutercnd of the spring, as in the device before described, are moved bya tooth, d, upon the mainspringarbor D, which engages a notched disk',M, located upon the barrel F, adjacent to the said arbor, in such mannerthat the said disk will be turned through a distance of one tooth ornotch at each rotation of the arbor, in a manv ner well known in theconstruction of stop devices heretofore used for the prevention ofoverwinding of the mainspring in ordinary watches. This notched disk Mcarries a projection upon its surface, which is so constructed andlocated in connection with a tooth or teeth, j', upon the wheel J thatthe said projection upon the disk will be in position to engage a toothupon the wheel, so as to hold the latter from rotation during thewinding of the watch, and will, when the watch is fully Wound, becarried by the movement of the disk into position for disengagement fromthe said tooth, so as to allow the said wheel to rotate, and therebyrelease the detent in the same manner as hereinafter set forth.

In the particular construction of the device above generally described,which is herein shown, the notched disk M is pivoted upon the top plateof the barrel F by means of a dovetailed stud, f', upon said barrel, thedisk preferably having a relatively large central aperture with whichthe stud is engaged, and being split at one point, so it may be sprungupon said stud in a familiar manner. The said disk IWI also is providedwith a series of teeth, m, of which there are five shown, so as to formsix notches, one of which is engaged by the tooth d upon the arbor D ateach rotation of the latter in winding, it being contemplated, in thewatch shown, that the spring will be sufficiently wound by six rotationsof the mainspring-arbor. Upon the upper surface of the said disk M isformed a segmental rib or annular projection, M, which preferablyextends through slightly more than half a circle, and is provided withan outer cylindric surface in position to engage the teeth j upon thewheel J, said teeth being located upon the lower part of the said wheelJ, or that adjacent to the barrel, and adapted to pass over the uppersurface of the disk M. The segmental projection M is so located withreference to the teeth m' upon the disk that when the watch is unwound,and during the time that it is being wound up, said projection will bein position to engage one of the teeth j', and t-o retain the wheel J inposition to hold the detent H free lfrom engagement with the pendulum.The ends m and m2 of the said segmental projection M, also, are soplaced that when, in the rotation of the barrel, the tooth B upon thearbor engages the last tooth of the series m, and the spring issufficiently wound, the tooth 7" engaged with the said projection willbe released from the end m thereof and allowed to move inwardly pastsaid projection, and thereby allow the wheel J to freely rotate and thedetent to be thrown outwardly by the spring K.

The position of the parts immediately after the tooth engaged with theprojection has been released therefrom is illustrated in Fig. 8. Thesaid projection may obviously extend through any part of a circlenecessary in order to hold the wheel J from rotation during a desiredtime, depending upon the distance apart of the teeth m and the numberot' times it is necessary to turn the arborto sufficiently wind thewatch.

Asherein shown and preferably construe-ted, the ends ofthe segmentalprojection or rib M are so arranged that when the end m engaged with atooth j is in position to release said tooth the opposite end, mi, willbe at the same distance from the center of the spring-arbor as the saidend m, soy that when the watch begins to run down after the pendulum hasbeen locked, in the manner above described, said projection M in thebodily movement of the disk M with the barrel will pass without strikingthe tooth which has just been disengaged therefrom. It will beunderstood, of course, that as soon as such un winding orbodily movementof the disk with the barrel begins the said disk and the rib M will beturned backwardly, or in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 8, so as tobring the end m ot' the angular pro* jection into position to engage thetoot-h following that which was previously engaged therewith, or, inease there is only one tooth, to reengage the same tooth after acomplete rotation of the barrel.

IOO

It will be readily seen that the time during which the watch will rundown after the pendulum has been stopped may be varied by changing thenumber of teeth j upon the wheel J or their distance apart in the samemanner as before described in connection with the tooth or teeth]- shownin Figs. 2, 3, and G.

In the construction of the devices above described, herein shown, andillustrated more clearly in Fig. 9, the tooth d is formed upon a collar,d2, attached to a sleeve, d3, which is fitted upon the squared portiondof the arbor D, upon which the gear d is also placed, the wheel J beingfitted to rotate upon the said sleeve d.

In the particular form of the detent II shown in Figs. 2, 3, 7, and St-he edge thereof adjacent to the pendulum is so formed that the stud Iis caused to pass over a gradual incline in order to reach the notch inpassing to the notch from either side of the latter. It will also beobserved that, asshown in the said figures, the location of the pivot hof the said detent is such that when the said detent is fully thrown outthe point lr thereof, which is engaged with the wheel J, will be carriedto or slightly beyond or above a straight line passing through thepivotal axis of the detent and the axis of rotation of the wheel, sothat the said detent will be locked outwardly, and the pendulum cannotbe released, except by the said wheel J being rotated. tage ot' thisconstruction is,that the pendulum is thereby held positively and cannotbe unlocked by the yielding ofthe spring Ii. The notch h and the stud Iare also preferably constriu'ted, Figs. 2, 3, 7, and 8. with their sideedges perpendicular to a line drawn from the center ot' the pivot hthrough the said notch, so that the pressure of the stud upon the sidesof the notch will be directly toward the pivotal axis ofthe detent, andwill therefore have no tendency to rotate the latter in eitherdirection.

In Fig. l0 a t'orm ofthe stopdeviceis shown embodying the same generalprinciples ot' construction, so tar as the use of a spring to throw thedetent into engagement with a notch in the pendulum is concerned, but inwhich devices generally similar to those shown in my said prior patento.293.69Lare used to move the spring bodily at a desired time,in order tocause the engagement oi" the detent and pendulum.

This device comprises, essentially, a notched disk, M, pivoted upon thebarrel and actuated from a tooth upon the mainspringarbor, a wheel, J,loosely mounted upon the said arbor and connected with the barrel, so asto rotate with the latter-,by means ot' a spring, jg, said wheel J alsobeing provided with a ijngenf, adapted to engage atooth or projection,m, upon the disk M, and a pivoted plate or detent,I-I, provided with apoint or projectionJz/t, engaged with the serrated wheel J, and with apart or projection, lr", adapted to engage a notch, I, in inthependulum, said projection 7i* in this case being made in the formot'a spring. In the operation oi'this device the disk M will be turnedone notch by the tooth upon the arbor at each revolution ofthe barrel,and when the spring` is wound to a desired extent the tooth m3 upon thesaid disk will encounter the finger js, thereby rotating the wheel Jbackwardly against the resistance of the spring y, and carrying theplate II in position for engagement otA the projection h willi therecess ofthe pendulum. The spring h" is made of such strength that itwill yield baclnvardly when the projection if is pressed against thependulum, until, by the movement of the latter, the notch I is broughtinto position for engagement with the said projection. The saidprojection if will obviously enter the recess I a distance dependentupon the extent of the movement ot' the pendulum tending to wind thewatch after the said projection comes in contact with the pendulum andbefore the said recess is brought opposite the projection. This movementmay in some cases be so slight as to make the time during which thespring must unwind in order to release the pendulum objectionably short,and i'or this reason the use ot' the devices shown in Figs. 3, 4, 7, andS is preferred in practice.

It will be understood that two or more notches may be provided in thedetent when the construction herein shown is used, or two or morenotches may be madein the pendulum The advanl when a projection is usedupon the detent, so

thata less extent of movement in the pendulum at'ter the detent isreleased and thrown outwardly by the spring is required to cause thepositive engagement between the detent and pendulum than in theconstruction herein shown. Inasmuch, however, as the move. nient of thependulum is comparatively slight, and the said pendulum will practicallyin all eases come into position i'or engagement with the notch at itsiirst vibration, the useotmore than one notch or project-ion willusually be unnecessary. It is obvious, also, that instead of the springherein shown for actuating the detent au equivalent weight may be used;but, t'or evident reasons, a spring is preferred i'or this purpose.

In the patent above referred to as having been granted to me springsare, shown attached to the watchplates in position to encounter theupper and lower ends ofthe pendulum, so as to take up the impetus ot'the weight, and which also tend to throw the weight backward in itsoscillatory movement. Another form of spring device for the san-iepurpose is herein shown, which embodies the same principles ot"operation. In this case a single spring, N, Fig. l, is shown as securedto the plate l) adjacent to the dial and arranged to extend inwardlyover the pendulum in position to be encountered by pins a upon the saidpendulum, said pins, as herein shown, being secured in a part ofthe armA. In the vibratory movement oi` the weight the spring N will obviouslyalternately strike the pins a with the same result as is obtained by theuse of the two separate springs shown in the said prior patent.

In taking apart a sel t winding watch ofthe character above described,i'or cleaning, repairs, or other purposes, considerable dithculty hasheretofore been experienced in unwinding` the mainspring, for the reasonthat the ratchet-wheel B, which is geared with the inainspringarbor, isengaged both by the pawl a upon the pendulum-arm, and also by the detentd upon the plate, it being practi-- cally iinpossible for one person toat once hold both the pawl and detent out oi" engagement with theratchet-wheel, and at the same time tohold the spring as it unwinds.Injury to the watch is also liable to occur in attempting to unwind itin this manner, Yfor the reason that unless both the pawl and detent arepositively held clear from the ratchet their ends are liable to strikethe latter in its backward movement, and so as to cause injury both tothe pawl and detent and to the ratchet-wheel.

In order to provide a convenient means for holding both the pawl anddetent out ot engagement with the ratchet-wheel for the purpose abovestated` means are heroin provided as follows: The ends of the pawl andratchet which are engaged with'the ratchet-wheel are placed at suchdistance apart that when the detent is thrown outwardly or disengagedfrom the ratchet, and when the pendulum is at the IOO IIO

upper limit ofits movement, as is shown, for l herein illustrated ispreferred, however, for

instance, in Fig. l, the free end of the pawl upon the pendulum-arm willbe engaged by the free end of the detent in such manner that the saidpawl will also be held out of engagement with the ratchet.

In order to enable the detent to be positively and readily moved so asto disengage it and the pawl, the plate P, to which the detent isattached, is provided with an aperture, p, at a point adjacent to thesaid detent, and in said aperture is located apin, o, in position toengage the side ofthe detent adjacent to the ratchet-wheel, said pin obeing attached at the opposite or inner side of the plate P, Figs. lland l2, to a rod or plate, O, which is held by a spring-support securedto the said plate P in such manner that the pin o will be held normallyfree from contact with the de tent and in position to allow the latterto engage the ratchet. The said plate O is arranged in such positionthat-it may be reached by a pin or other slender instrument from a pointexterior to the plates ofthe watch,so that it may be moved in adirection to carry the pin toward the detent, and to cause the saidpinto throw the free end of the said detent out of engagement with theratchet.

In the construction of the parts herein shown, and illustrated moreclearly in detail,

'Figs ll and l2, the plate O is arranged to extend from the pin 0outwardlyr toward the edge of the plate, and is attached to atransversely-arranged spring, O', secured to the under or inner side ofthe plate P. The said spring is herein shown as being made in one piecewith the plate O.

In the particular watch herein illustrated the plate O is so locatedthat its outer end is opposite one of the posts PL connecting the platesP and P of the watch, and the said post is provided with a transverseaperture, p, through which the pin may be inserted for pressing theplate O inwardly, and thereby moving the detent, as above described.

It will be observed that the effect of pressing inwardly upon the outerend of the bar or plate O, as described, is not only to thrust the saidbar inwardly toward the center of the watch, but also, on account of theattachment of the plate to the spring O', located at right anglesthereto, to cause the inner end of said plate which carries the pin otomove laterally, so as to move the pin toward the detent in a directiontransverse thereto.

By the use of the releasing device above described the spring mayobviously be unwound in a watch in which the self-winding device is atthe side of the watch adjacent to the dial without removing the latter.

It is obvious that a releasing-pin, o, and a spring-plate, O, supportingit, can be so arranged that it may be moved by an instrument insertedthrough a suitable aperture in the plate P, or that remote from thedial,without the necessity of taking the works from the case for thispurpose. The arrangement the reason that by its use the detent and pawlare much less likely to be released by accidentally moving the pin 0. orby the plate O being intentionally disturbed by a person ignorant of itspurpose.

The essential feature of novelty in that part of my invention whichrelates to the stop mechanism forlocliiug the pendulum consists in theuse, in connection with a spring-actuated detent adapted to normallyengage the pendulum, of mechanism constructed to hold said detent out ofengagement with the pendulum while the watch is being wound, and torelease said detent so as to allow it to engage the pendulum when thewatch is fully wound. In carrying out this feature of the invention itis obviously not essential that the spring-detent should be constructedas herein shown, and any movable part adapted to engagea projection uponor a notch in the pendulum, or to otherwise engage the latter so as tohold it from movement, may be used. rlhe spring by which the detent isactuated may also beseparated from or made in one piece with the detent,or otherwise applied so as to properly move the detent,withont departurefrom my invention. Other devices than those herein illustrated may alsobe used for holding the detent from engagement with the4 pendulum, andfor releasing the said detent at a desired time,with the same novelresults as herein set forth. I desire, therefore, to claim, broadly, alldevices for the purpose above mentioned operating upon the generalprinciples herein set forth, as well as the particular devices hereinillustrated as a practical embodiment of my invention.

A device for releasing the detent and pawl from the ratchet engaged bythem in unwinding the watch, such as is herein shown, I consider to beessentially novel with mc,and said device is, therefore, broadly claimedherein without restriction to the particular form thereof which isillustrated herein.

I claim my inventionl. In aselfwinding watch, the combination, with avibrating pendulum, of a spring-actuated detent adapted to normallyengage said pendulum, means for holding said detent out ofengagementwith the pendulum against the action of the spring, and means actuatedby part of the watch mechanism which is moved in winding, constructed torelease the detent, so as to permit its prompt engagement with thependulum when the watch is wound to a desired extent, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a self-winding watch, the combination, with a vibrating pendulum,of a spring-actuated dctent adapted to normally engage said pendulum,means for holding said detent ont of engagement with the pendulumagainst the action ofthe spring, and means actuated by a part of thewatch mechanism which is moved in winding, constructed to release thedetent, so as to permit its prompt engagement with the pendulum when thewatch is wound to a IOO desired extent, and means constructed todisengage the said detent from the pendulum at the end ot' a desir-tdtime after such engagement, substantially as described.

3. In a sel twinding watch, the combination, witn a vibrating pendulum,of a spring-actated detent adapt ad touormally engage the pendulum, anotched or serrated wheel, as J, engag'ed withthe detent, meansconnecting the said wheel with the mainspring-barrel,whereA b v thewheel is caused to rotate with the barrel in a direction to hold thedeteut out ot' engagement with the pendulum, and means operated by apart ot' the watch mechanism whichis moved in winding, construetet'l todi.sengage said wheel l'rom the barrel when the watch is wound to adesired extent, whereby said detcut is caused to promptly engage thependulum, substantially as and l`or the purpose set i'ortll.

et. In itself-winding watcl., thceombinatiou, with a vibrating pendulum,ol' a springactuated detent adapted to normally engage the pendulum, anotched or serrated wheel, as d", mounted concentrically with themainspringbarrel and engaged with the dctent, a movable part orprojection upon the mainspringbarrel adapted to engage a tooth orprojection upon said wheel J, antl means ope 1ated by a part ot' themechanism which is moved in winding, constructed to move said part orprojection when the spring is wound to a t esired extent, so as torelease the wheel and permit the prompt engagement oi' the detent withthe pendulum, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. Initself-winding watch, the combination. with the mainspring,mainspriizg arbor and barrel, and avibrating pendulum, ot' aspringaetuated detenta adajiited to engage the pendulum, a notched orserrated wheel, J, mounted to rotate t'rely concentrically with themainspring-arbor and engaged with the detent, a pawl pivoted upon themainspring-barrcl and engaged with the wheel J, and a projection, g,upon the mainspring engaged with the said pawl, substantially as andt'or the purpose set forth.

6. Ina self-winding watch, the combination, with the mainspring, amainspring arbor and barrel, and a vibrating pendulum, ot' a springactuated deteut adapted to normally engage the pendulum, a piece, G, ofspring metal attached to the end ofthe mainspring and eounectiug thelatter with the barrel, a projection, g, upon the mainspring, meansengaged with the detent, constructed to hold the latter free fromengagement with the pendulum, and

means actuated bythe inward movement ot' the p rojectiong when thespring is fully wound, constructed to release the said detcnt, so as topermit its engagement with the pendulum, substantially as described.

7. In aselfwinding watch, the combination, with the mainspring,mainspring arbor and barrel, and avibrating pendulum, ot' aspringvactuated detient adapted to engage the pendulum, a notched orserrated wheel, J, mounted conventi-i fa ly with the mainspriiig-arborand engaged with the detent, a pawl, L, pivoted upon the barrel andengaged with the said wheel, and a piece, G, connecting tho end of themainspring with the barrel and provided with a projection, g, engagedwith the said .pawl, substantiallyv as and tor the purpose set forth.

8. In a selfwinding watch, the combination ot` a mainspring providedwith a slot, g', near its outer end, a mai nspring arbor and barrel, avibrating pendulum, a springaetuated detent adapted to engage thependulum, apiece, G', of spring metal attached to the end ofthemainspring and connecting the latter with the barrel, a projection, g,upon the mainspring, means constructed to hold the detent tree vfromengagement with the pendulum, and means actuated by the inward movementofthe projectiong when the spring is fully wound, constructedto releasethe said detent,so as to permit its engagement with the pendulum,substantially as described.

9. Ina selt'- winding watch, the combination, withthcvibratingpcndulun1,ot'asinglespring, N, and stops n n upon the 'atchlplate andpendulum, substantially as and for thc purpose set t'orth.

10. In a wimling` mechanism comprising a vibrating pendulum and apendulumarm, a ratchet-wheel, and a pawl upon thc arm and a detent uponthe watch-plate engaged with thc said ratchet-wheel, said detcnt beinglo cated in such position tliatwhen released from the ratchet-wheel itwill be encountered by the pawl, so as to free the latter from theratchetwheel in the upward movement ot' the pcndulum, means engaged withthe detent,whereby the latter may be moved from the Outside of theplates, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

1I. In a winding mechanism comprising a vibrating pendulum andpendulumarm, a ratchet-wheel, a pawl upon the arm, a detent upon thewaticl'i-plate engaged with the said ratchet-wheel, andaspring-supported plate, O, provided with a piu, o, adapted to engagethe said detent, substantially as and for the purpose set l'orth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I aiiix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

HERMANN VON DER HEYDT.

Vitnesses:

C. @rinunce Poom, Umvnn E. Faoin.

ICO

